Three Kingdoms, written by Ming Dynasty novelist Luo Guanzhong, is one of the four famous Chinese classics well-liked by people throughout the world till the present day. Exciting episodes of power struggles are staged against the backdrop of the states of Wei, Shu and Wu, which have emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty. What shines more brilliantly is the interplay of righteousness, loyalty, sincerity, benevolence and wisdom. This fully-illustrated compact edition brings you the highlights of the magnificent classic, including well-known episodes such as the oath of brotherhood at the Peach Garden, Liu Bei's three visits to Zhuge Liang's cottage, and the Battle of Red Cliff. It will also lead you through the ups and downs of the heroes of ancient times, at times admiring their courage, at other times lamenting their fate.
The Three Kingdoms, a foremost Chinese historical novel, has exemplified famous enactments in military strategies: *Leave one side of the net open *Lure the tiger out of the mountain *Kill with a borrowed knife *Chain the enemy's fleet of boats with locks Such stratagems are also depicted in the award-winning movie production Red Cliff, which celebrates the ingenuity of the strategist Zhuge Liang against the schemes and wiles of commander Cao Cao. Not surprisingly, these age-old tactics are the epitome of wisdom and have gained a commanding position in the corporate world. Be it business, science, technology, politics or leisure, each of these strategies will equip you to face the challenges at work, in the marketplace and even in the sports arena.
Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational mind and the emotional mind—that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort - but if it is overcome, change can come quickly. In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people - employees and managers, parents and nurses - have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results: • The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients • The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping • The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.
"A gripping discovery of God's grace where we least expect to find it—in the decaying core of the city." —Ronald A. Nikkel, president, Prison Fellowship International "The story of Lupton's ministry is one of the most inspiring in America. Those of us who are trying to accomplish something of value in urban settings look to him and his co-workers as models." —Tony Campolo, author of Stories That Feed Your Soul Urban ministry activist Robert Lupton moved into a high crime area of Atlanta intending to bring Christ’s message into the ghetto—but his humbling discovery of a spiritual life already flowering in the city’s urban soil forces the minister to reexamine the deepest parts of his own soul, confronting his own patronizing, materialistic attitudes and the biases he himself held against the urban poor.
“A material epic with an astonishing fidelity to history."—New York Times Book Review Three Kingdoms tells the story of the fateful last reign of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220), when the Chinese empire was divided into three warring kingdoms. Writing some twelve hundred years later, the Ming author Luo Guanzhong drew on histories, dramas, and poems portraying the crisis to fashion a sophisticated, compelling narrative that has become the Chinese national epic. This abridged edition captures the novel's intimate and unsparing view of how power is wielded, how diplomacy is conducted, and how wars are planned and fought. As important for Chinese culture as the Homeric epics have been for the West, this Ming dynasty masterpiece continues to be widely influential in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam and remains a great work of world literature.
Hemodynamics makes it possible to characterize in a quantitative way, the function of the heart and arterial system, thereby producing information about what genetic and molecular processes are of importance for cardiovascular function. Snapshots of Hemodynamics: An Aid for Clinical Research and Graduate Education by Nico Westerhof, Nikos Stergiopulos and Mark I. M. Noble is a quick reference guide designed to help basic and clinical researchers as well as graduate students to understand hemodynamics. The layout of the book provides short and independent chapters that provide teaching diagrams as well as clear descriptions of the essentials of basic and applied principles of hemodynamics. References are provided at the end of each chapter for further reading and reference.
'A learned, wise, wonderfully written single volume history of a civilisation that I knew I should know more about' Tom Holland 'Masterful and engrossing...well-paced, eminently readable and well-timed. A must-read for those who want - and need - to know about the China of yesterday, today and tomorrow' Peter Frankopan China's story is extraordinarily rich and dramatic. Now Michael Wood, one of the UK's pre-eminent historians, brings it all together in a major new one-volume history of China that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand its burgeoning role in our world today. China is the oldest living civilisation on earth, but its history is still surprisingly little known in the wider world. Michael Wood's sparkling narrative, which mingles the grand sweep with local and personal stories, woven together with the author's own travel journals, is an enthralling account of China's 4000-year-old tradition, taking in life stationed on the Great Wall or inside the Forbidden City. The story is enriched with the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries; correspondence and court cases going back to the Qin and Han dynasties; family letters from soldiers in the real-life Terracotta Army; stories from Silk Road merchants and Buddhist travellers, along with memoirs and diaries of emperors, poets and peasants. In the modern era, the book is full of new insights, with the electrifying manifestos of the feminist revolutionaries Qiu Jin and He Zhen, extraordinary eye-witness accounts of the Japanese invasion, the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, and fascinating newly published sources for the great turning points in China's modern history, including the Tiananmen Square crisis of 1989, and the new order of President Xi Jinping. A compelling portrait of a single civilisation over an immense period of time, the book is full of intimate detail and colourful voices, taking us from the desolate Mongolian steppes to the ultra-modern world of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It also asks what were the forces that have kept China together for so long? Why was China overtaken by the west after the 18th century? What lies behind China's extraordinary rise today? The Story of China tells a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity and deep humanity; a portrait of a country that will be of the greatest importance to the world in the twenty-first century.
Presenting a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to conducting psychodynamic therapy, this engaging guide is firmly grounded in contemporary clinical practice and research. The book reflects an openness to new influences on dynamic technique, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology. It offers a fresh understanding of the most common problems for which patients seek help -- depression, obsessionality, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, panic, and trauma -- and shows how to organize and deliver effective psychodynamic interventions. Extensive case material illustrates each stage of therapy, from engagement to termination. Special topics include ways to integrate individual treatment with psychopharmacology and with couple or family work.
